Soap



To all whom it may concern.

Patented av. 28, 1922..

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' soar.

No Drawing. Application filed July 9, i

Be it known thatI, ARTHUR O. ZINK, a citizen -of the United States, residin at Rahway, inthe county of Union and tate of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soap, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a toilet article, more particularly to'an. article composed of soap prepared for individual use in a sanitary and economical form, and also to a saponaceous composition for use in the article.

Soap. has heretofore been prepared in various forms for individual use, but all the forms at present known to me are open to numerous objections. Small individualv cakes are in use in hotels .and other public places, but these are wasteful, as in the majority of cases the cakes are used but once or twice. This soap is sometimes reworked but at considerable expense. Moreover small pieces of soap when wet and slippery are hard to retain in the hands of the user, and owing to their small area require an excessive amount of time and rubbing to produce suflicient lather.- In addition, all soap cakes require a tray, which tray and its sup port generally become coated with dissolved soap, necessltating frequent cleaning to maintain them in a sanitary condition.

Liquid soaps and soap powders or shavings on washstands, ing. In addition, the dispensers used fordispensed from containers are also in use,

but are likewise objectionable on sanitary,

grounds, as the excess or drippings. falling etc, require frequent cleanthis purpose are objectionable, owing to their general tendency to become'ologged at the outlet, liquid dispensers in particular requiring attention at frequent intervals. Furthermore, liquid dispensers are ordinarily arranged to give such a small quantity of soap at a single operation that they must be actuated several times to produce a sufficient quantity of soap, and it is difficult to keep the soap from dripping from the hand of the user in the meantime, thereby causing waste.v Individual pellets of hard soap have also been proposed, but if these are made solid they cannot be crushed in the hand and are exceedingly inconvenient to use and require time to work up a 1919. I Serialm. 309,683.

cause them to dissolve and form lather. Furthermore, crushing the pellet disclosed in the J onespatent would be likely to squirt the liquid contents on the user and immediate viclnity.

An object of my invention'is to provide a soap pellet in a form which will :avoid all the above named objections,'which will be economical to manufacture, easy to handle,

which can be readily spread orsmeared on' the hands of the user and will quickly produce a plentiful lather. Another object is to provide a pellet which may be made in' various shapes so as to ,be equally capable of being dispensed by different well known types of slot machines or of beingused direct from its shipping package. Still another object is to provide a pellet of plastic soap which will not dry out and harden before use. In short, the invention aims to provide soap in a form suitable for individs ual use in a practical and sanitary manner in all public places or. in the household,

A further object of-my invention is to produce a saponaceous' com-positlon, which while capable ofother uses, such as thoserequiring a paste soap, is particu ed for use in my soap pellet. v

.Briefly stated the soap pellet comprlses a larly adapt small portion of soap in such a pasty or plastic condition that it will readily spread on the hands of the user, of a sufficient size for a single application or use, and. a rela: tively thin and firm protective coatlng or casing, made of a readily rupturable material, and preferably though not \neccssarily soluble in hot or cold water.

0qmp0sitz'0n.-The pellet may be composed of ordinary soap in a pasty condltion, but it has been found that certain properties are desirable in the pellet soap which are not found in the soaps in general use, and a mixture composed of soap, agar-agar, glycerine, a non-saponifiable paraffin oil and water has been found to givesatisfaction: A cocoanut oil soap is deemed preferable for use in the pellet. If desired coloring matter, perfume, abrasives such as pumice, or.

cleansing chemicals such as borax, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or sodlum silicate, may be added. Any part or all of v 50 erin, 10,

these may be used depending upon the particular conditions in which the pellet is to be used. The agar-agar forms a jelly of a peculiar friable or grainy quality which is freefrom any toughness or stringines's, and

when added to the soap. binds it together and imparts to it a certain elasticity or f firmness without in any 'way detracting from 'its .quality of readily crushingt 10 spreading on the hands of the user. also furnishes bulkv in the composition. Gum- .tragacanth, gelatinor starch-may also be .used for thelatter purpose in lieu'of the agar-agar, and any other substance having the bulk giving quality may be substituted therefor. While not absolutely necemary, it is also. desirable to use a soap composi- .tion have non-drying qualities, and the ad'- 'dition'of glycerin in excess of that formed 2 0 in the manufacture of the'soap produces this result. -Moreove'r, theglycerinis desirable.

in the, soap by reason of its well known emole iientand soothing action. Glycerin is, howver, expensive and other substances acting to prevent or lessen drying may be use,

such as glucose, but any sugar or syrup 7 such asjthe trade'compound known as nulom'oline may be substituted; .It may be advisable .to use both' glycerin and glucose sunultaneouslvand more or less satisfactory results have beenobtained with this combmatiom It is further desirable to increase theesmoothness and easyspreading quality of the soap, and .theiaddition of a" sm 1 quantity of a non-'saponifiable parafiin oil produces this result, but it is obvious that any other equivalent oil or substance may be used. 'For cheapness, water is added to ob tain thedesiredconsistency and to add bulk.

'40 I have found the. pellet composition'to opinstance, the soap may be varied as muchas 35%, the blnder 10%, the drying resistant 50%, the paraflin oil 20%, and the water-50%.

7 .The ingredients are mixed and if desired the mixtureis aeratedto increase bulk. It

and

crushed between the hands. sential it, is preferable thatvthis coating be formed of a substance which issoluble in ornamented, or with advertising said.- pellet being enclosed in a relatively is then formed into pellets of the .desired form in any of the ways common in the art of plastics and the hereinafter described coating applied in any desired manner.

00ating.-The pellet. may be coated with any material or combination of materials which when in a relatively thin layer possess I suflicient rigidityto enable the pellets to keep their shape and prevent adhesion, and which at the same time assists in preventing drying out and is easily rupturable when While not es-.

cold or hot water, andone formed of sugar has been found to meet these requirements. However, any' other suitable soluble material may beused or even an insoluble one, r such as shellac or other elastic material. The coating may be colored or otherwise matter, as the "fancy of the buyer may dictate;

' Having n'ow fully described my invention, what I claim is: j

. 1. A toilet article,'

I inprising a homoge- 2. A tolletarticle, comprising a homogeneous pellet of-pasty soap, mlxed with a drying resistant, and enclosed in a protective coating composed of a disintegrable inaterial which will. aid in preventingdrying I v of the soap. a

3. A toilet article, comprising a pellet composed of plastic soap containing gylcerin in excess ofthat contained in the original'fat,

firm but easily rupturable protective and disintegrable coating.

" 4. A toilet article, comprising a pellet co'mposed of soap, a non-drymg agent, a vegetable gum and water, and an easily rupturable protective and therefor. 5. A toilet article, comprising a pellet composed of soap, a non-drying agent, a nonsaponifiable oil and water, and .a thin dis-. integrable protective coating therefor.

6; A toilet article, comprising a pellet composed of soap, a non-d in agent, a vegedisintegrable coating tabl'e gum, a non-saponi ab e oil and water,

and a thin, firm, easily ruptura'ble and soluble protective coating therefor. In testimony whereof" I have herewith signed this specification.

' ARTHUR O. ZINK.

85 neous pellet of soap' in a pasty orplastic 

